AIB unveils €250m agri-food fund

AIB has unveiled a three-tiered €250m investment fund focused on Ireland’s rapidly expanding agri-food sector.

The bank said its Agri Investment Programme was available to help all existing or potential customers in this sector to plan for their future business needs. The initiative is an element of AIB’s Big Drive for Small Business, which sees the bank increasing engagement with businesses throughout Ireland.

Welcoming the initiative, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said: “Initiatives such as the AIB Agri-Fund must be welcomed in its obvious capacity to ensure greater access to adequate funding for viable farm enterprise propositions. This applies not only to the dairy sector as it gears up towards a post quota context but to other sectors also.”